Crossing Borders with Nathan Lustig

Greatest Hits Episode: Christian Van der Henst: Helping Latin America Learn with Platzi, Ep 155 ​​For this week’s episode of Crossing Borders, we’re revisiting one of our greatest hits episodes featuring Platzi’s Christian Van der Henst. How did a curious young web developer from Guatemala become one of the first Latin American entrepreneurs to enter YCombinator? Christian Van der Henst fell in lo...

Ximena Aleman, Prometeo: Transforming Latin America’s financial landscape via Open Banking, Ep 154 ~70% of Latin Americans are unbanked or underbanked. That means that there’s a huge opportunity to improve access to financial products and services across the region by leveraging data and technology. Ximena Aleman is co-founder and CEO of Prometeo, a startup that develops Open Banking APIs for fint...

I sat down with Caterine to talk about the pain points of property management in Latin America and the differences in Neivor’s reception between the Colombian and Mexican markets. We also talk about her experience in finance before becoming a founder and what it was like fundraising for the first time.

In this episode, I sat down with Gonzalo to talk about why the incentives in Latin American financial products are broken and how Quansa aims to change that. Gonzalo also shares his lessons learned from working in the corporate world, participating in Pear.vc’s accelerator, and going through the fundraising process in the US and Latin America.

In this episode, Marta explains what it’s like to be a female entrepreneur in Latin America, provides tips on how to apply for YCombinator and make the most out of the experience, as well as why she and her team chose to bootstrap UBits for four years before raising money. She shares one of the more unique stories of how she met her cofounder: at a bookstore. 

I sat down with Maribel to talk about why the distribution system in the professional beauty market is broken and the enormous opportunity it presents in an industry that is often overlooked.

Listen to this episode of Crossing Borders to hear Matias Rivera explain how philanthropy and angel investment are connected in Latin America, and how this connection affects entrepreneurs. If you are interested in this topic, you can also check out my article on startup investing as impact investing in Latin America.

I sat down with Benjamin to talk about how he’s tackling some of the industry’s deepest-rooted problems and streamlining the home buying and renting process in the region. We also discuss his experience at Y Combinator and how to build and maintain company culture once you go remote.

In this episode, Nico Barawid explains that, as an entrepreneur, the lows are never as low as you think they are, because every past mistake or tough situation will teach you something useful to prepare you for your next attempt. It is with this mindset that Nico has taken Casai to where it is today, transforming the traveling experience for the next generation of digital nomads.

I sat down with Daniel for this episode to talk about why he decided to go after the Latin American market instead of Silicon Valley, how he raised money from Y Combinator, Accel, and Kaszek Ventures, and why he wants to tackle the problem of fraud in Latin America. We also discuss why he based his company in Cali and the lessons he learned building and working for three startups in Latin America...

Federico and I had a great time talking about how he’s changing the transport logistics industry in Brazil. My hope is that as his company grows, he’ll become like one of his favorite examples – Alibaba – and find ways to expand his influence worldwide. Enjoy listening.

In this episode, I sat down with Pedro to discuss how he landed on the idea for Flourish, what companies can do to attract foreign talent, and how to think of a business from a global perspective.

I sat down with Alexander to talk about his entrepreneurial trajectory from getting a loan from a bank at 14 years old with his first business, to moving from his native Colombia to the US and eventually founding Torre. We also discuss Voice 123’s business model and the benefits of bootstrapping a company.

I sat down with Pete to talk about what it was like founding startups in different Internet eras and why he decided to make the jump into Latin America with NFX. Pete also provides advice to founders for overcoming crises, having experienced himself running a travel company during 9/11 and a real estate company during the 2008 financial crisis.

I sat down with Bismarck to talk about his nomadic childhood between the US and Jalisco in Mexico and how he veered from wanting to study medicine to taking an interest in tech startups and eventually founding his own. We also discuss the harsh truths about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and how Guadalajara’s tech ecosystem has evolved over the years.

I sat down with David to talk about how the SME lending space in Mexico has evolved since 2015 and the impact COVID-19 has had at Credijusto. We also talk about David’s lessons learned from the nonprofit sector and why working with impact investors is such an important part of Credijusto’s trajectory.

I sat down with Maria to talk about what these pathways look like for a big company and why it’s important to transition to a low carbon economy. We also discuss her experience working in the nonprofit sector before entering the entrepreneurial world and Maria offers advice to other entrepreneurs on how to deal with the ecosystem’s gatekeepers.

I sat down with Agustin to talk about his endeavors over the years as one of the most prolific entrepreneurs we’ve had on the podcast. He shares with us his reflections on reaching an exit with QueHambre as a young entrepreneur, as well as what it was like to have co-founded the first Chilean company to get into YCombinator.

I sat down with Jose Miguel to talk about what a fund of funds model entails, from their investment criteria to what it’s like raising capital. We also discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the VC market in Mexico and Latin America and the vision behind Fondo de Fondos’ new impact fund.

I sat down with Daniel to talk about some of his first endeavors from selling empanadas at school to eventually founding his first startup Smart Taxi. We also discuss the real problems that Picap is solving through its ride-hailing and logistics services, as well as how they overcame the regulatory hurdles that disruptive businesses often have to face.

I sat down with Brynne to talk more about her experience in real estate and decision to start Habi. We also discuss the process of buying and selling a property in Colombia and how Habi is improving it, and some of her learnings from raising US capital.

I sat down with Rodrigo to learn more about his decision to go into finance and his experience working at Lehman Brothers until right before the firm declared bankruptcy in 2008. We also talk about Colombia’s broken real estate industry, how he first bootstrapped La Haus with Jaguar Capital before raising outside funding, and the importance of mentorship and role models.

In his second time around on the podcast, I sat down with Brian to talk about the growing pains of merging operations with Grupo Zap and why acquihiring is one of the most underutilized strategies of large tech companies in the region. We also discuss how the ecosystem has evolved since 2009 and what inspired him to write his book Viva the Entrepreneur: Founding, Scaling and Raising Venture Capita...

When Alejandro launched YaEsta, he believed that all the conditions were in his favor for them to succeed: the idea, the team, the funding. Ecuador was shaping up to be a hotspot for digital businesses and there were few things he would have done differently. However, if there is one factor that is truly out of anyone’s control is the timing. 

I sat down with Juliana to talk about how Envíoclick’s solution is transforming the logistics and delivery industry in Mexico and Latin America. We also discuss how the e-commerce landscape has changed since 2014 and Envíoclick’s decision to expand to Colombia.